I still cannot for the life of me get these blasted images inserted correctly.

Anyway, any good scuttlebutt that you have heard about Up In The Air is entirely justified. The movie is in limited release in LA and NY and will be at a multiplex near you shortly. (My wife gets invited to industry screenings, hence my early taste.)

This might feel like a romantic comedy. Except. Except that the dozen or so people that Clooney fires (he is a professional “hit” man, hired to tell whole swaths of companies that they are being laid off) are all real office drones who have recently been laid off. Except one guy, you will recognize him, he is a character actor who does lots of TV.

These poor souls needed only to channel the impotence, rage, confusion and fear that came with being axed after years of slaving away to give the film a tragic and honest pathos the likes of which you don’t get from Hollywood.

Clooney is all you could ask of him. A perfect throw-back of the classical Male Hollywood Movie Star. Plus he can act pretty damned competently. Vera Farminga is priceless as a fully realized woman, a character as completely written as Clooney’s and a fine foil. Some serious comparisons to great classic movie couples will come to you with ease as you see them work. Anna Kendrick is impressive with the depth she brings to what could easily been glossed over.

The wit flows and the pacing is near flawless. The pain of all involved is a challenge to absorb. And there is a lot of it. Astonishingly, there is no feeling of exploitation of the non-actors getting fired. Reitman is hitting his stride.